Have you ever experienced ringing in your ears with no external source? Tinnitus is a condition that can significantly impact your daily life, making simple tasks like reading, watching TV, or even sleeping unmanageable. While it is rarely a deadly health condition, this particularly annoying type of hearing loss, which affects at least 50 million people in the United States, can be minimized with intervention.
What is Tinnitus?
Tinnitus refers to an internal buzzing, ringing, chirping, hissing, humming, and sometimes even roaring sound perceived by our ears that has no external source. This sound can affect one ear or both and can seem to come from inside the head or from a distance. In some instances, tinnitus can be short-lived, likely because of exposure to a loud noise over time. Loud concerts, noisy bars, and more could trigger temporary ear noises that usually resolve themselves. If your tinnitus lasts longer than six months, it’s considered chronic tinnitus.
What Causes Tinnitus?
Tinnitus is a symptom of a condition rather than a medical condition itself, which means many things can cause an individual to experience tinnitus. Some of the most common causes of tinnitus include:
- Aging
- Exposure to loud noise (gunshots, fireworks, construction noise, etc.)
- Ear injury or trauma
- Earwax blockages
- Ear infection
- Medication (antibiotics, antidepressants, etc.)
Tinnitus may also be a result of far less common medical conditions, such as eustachian tube dysfunction, blood vessel disorders, and more. To learn more about what may have caused your tinnitus, talk to a TPMG Ear, Nose & Throat Specialist (ENT) in Williamsburg, Newport News or Suffolk, VA for more information.
Why Does Tinnitus Occur?
Most commonly, tinnitus is caused by damage to the tiny hairs in the spiral cavity of the inner ear (cochlea) that produce nerve impulses in response to sound. These hairs are one of the structures responsible for how we perceive sound, and they are necessary for the hearing process. In many cases of tinnitus, these hairs become damaged and can no longer send neural signals to the brain, causing the brain to respond abnormally.
Tinnitus Evaluation & Diagnosis
If you experience tinnitus, consult a trusted TPMG health care provider. To find the source of your tinnitus, your provider will perform a thorough evaluation by taking a detailed medical history and performing a physical examination. Your medical history will likely include information such as your past exposure to loud or continuous noise, any medications you’re taking, and more. They may ask you to describe what the sound is like—whether it’s steady ringing, a pulsating noise, or whether it’s intermittent or constant. Your doctor may also recommend hearing tests, blood tests, or imaging (CT or MRI scans) to rule out other factors that may be responsible for your tinnitus.
Treatment for Tinnitus in Hampton Roads, VA
While there is no cure for chronic tinnitus, certain therapies and treatment methods could help resolve your symptoms. Treatment of tinnitus often depends on multiple factors. Changing medication, removing earwax blockages, using hearing aids, and treating other conditions could all potentially help resolve tinnitus. Unfortunately, sometimes tinnitus has no fixable cause. In those cases, your provider may suggest treatment to reduce your tinnitus symptoms or suppress the noise. Some common therapies and treatments include:
- White noise machines
- Masking devices
- Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT)
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Medications
To understand what treatment for tinnitus may work best for you, consult a TPMG Ear, Nose, and Throat Specialist or TPMG Audiologist in Williamsburg, Newport News or Suffolk, VA for more information.